Britain has a unique castle heritage, & ” Castles of Britain & Ireland” is an exploration of 50 fascinating & awe-inspiring castles. With stunning photography by Stephen Whitehorne, the book`s engaging commentary guides the reader around the interior & exterior of each castle: architecture, furnishings, artefacts & gardens. The text is peppered with interesting snippets of historical information, including details of past residents & military action. Included are staples such as Caerphilly, Warwick & Dover, & also Pembroke, Bamburgh & Rochester among many others. Essential travel information on prices & transport links is provided for each castle, making this a practical `glove-box` title as well as an object of beauty. The book is a true celebration & a real treat for anyone who is fascinated by castles. The engaging text is complemented by beautiful pictures which entice the reader & bring alive & unique & very different charms of each castle covered. ...

This is an informative guide on some of the most popular castles in Scotland & how they came about. Before setting out it would be wise to contact either the castle itself, numbers are in the book, or the local Tourist Information Centre to check on opening hours & dates as some are closed for the winter months. ...

Fields of brilliant green dotted with grazing sheep, mountains cloaked in violet heather, dark lakes & lochs reflecting the leaden tones of the sky
- in the midst of these still largely wild landscapes, the Scottish castles recount the story of a land tormented by centuries of still smouldering struggle. From the first defensive towers in bare stone to the stately homes of the nineteenth century, crammed with paintings & precious furniture, the path was long & perilous. The most daring of men fought to defend or conquer them. Artists & architects were commissioned to embellish them. Their fortunes were ensured by the most powerful families. Leafing through the pages of this book, lingering over the magnificent images & reading the rich & exhaustive texts, is to follow & evocative itinerary through this ancient building, climbing narrow spiral staircases, crossing imposing halls, admiring splendid libraries
- a journey of discovery of nobility & misery, splendours & fragments of Scottish history.

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Through their turbulent & blood-stained history, most castles changed hands many times with the shifting political fortunes of the age. Some of the most dramatic & picturesque castles in Europe were built after the 16th century. Eventually, the growth of artillery & cannon fire reduced the defensive nature of castles but their administrative, & interestingly, romantic aspects continued to be significant. Today, castles continue to function as private residences, museums, & monuments open to tourists. They interest not only historians & architects, but also the layperson, who cannot help but be attracted by the air of romance & mystery they evoke. This book documents 100 of the most noteworthy castles in the world, through a concise description & uncomplicated format. The diverse selection covers the first motte-&-bailey structures, crusader Strongholds, polygonal & square constructions, star-shaped Vauban fortifications, gothic-inspired fairy tale castles & more. Each castle is placed in context with an introduction, & is followed by a short timeline with key dates & names of associated personalities including rulers, master masons, architects, & military figures. ...

This second book in the series Unfolding History features amazing aerial photographs of 29 of the world's greatest castles, fortresses & citadels, including the Tower of London, Alcratraz, The Great Wall of China & Palmyra. A spectacular fold-out photograph of each site enables the reader to see the monument in thrilling detail, while accompanying text provides information on the sites history & construction. This is the perfect giftbook for anyone interested in, or wanting to learn more, about some of mankinds greatest architectural legacies. ...

Castleton in 1908 in a fascinating series of reproductions of old Ordnance Survey plans in the Alan Godfrey Editions, ideal for anyone interested in the history of their neighbourhood or family. The map covers Castleton, just south of Rochdale, with features including the massive Globe Works (for textile machinery), railway station, Arrow Mill, Harp Mill, tramway along the Manchester Road, Globe leather works, Castleton iron works, Bluepits Mill, Linden Mill, Albion Mill, Westbrooke Mill, St Martin`s church, railway junctions with a portion of the line to Heywood, Manchet Hall, Marland Mill, Castleton Moor Mill, etc. On the south side of the town are Trub, Fox Hill, Castleton Works (disused), Royle Hill, Royle & Trows Farm. On the reverse is a directory of Castleton in 1918 plus a railway timetable for the Manchester-Rochdale-Todmorden line in 1914. About the Alan Godfrey Editions of the 25” OS Series: Selected towns in Great Britain & Ireland are covered by maps showing the extent of urban development in the last decades of the 19th & early 20th century. The plans have been taken from the Ordnance Survey mapping & reprinted at about 15 inches to one mile (1:4, 340). On the reverse most maps have historical notes & many also include extracts from contemporary directories. Most maps cover about one mile (1.6kms) north/south, one & a half miles (2.4kms) across; adjoining sheets can be combined to provide wider coverage.FOR MORE INFORMATION & A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL AVAILABLE TITLES PLEASE CLICK ON THE SERIES LINK. ...

Picking up on a throwaway line in The Magic Mountain, Castorp tells the story of Hans Castorp's student years in Gdansk, long before the adventures in Davos described in Thomas Mann's novel. Pawel Huelle skilfully creates a credible scenario for this influential period in Hans Castorp's development, imagining what happened when the rational German student was exposed to the Slavonic eastern edge of the Prussian empire. He comes across people, events & ideas that anticipate some of the encounters he will experience in years to come, including an enigmatic Polish woman who becomes his obsession. Set at the dawn of the twentieth century, Castorp faithfully recreates the atmosphere of central Europe as the storm began that would lead to two world wars. Beautifully written, full of humour, mystery & eccentricity, this is a moving tribute to a masterpiece of European literature. ...

Topographic survey of France at 1:25, 000 in IGN`s excellent TOP25 / Série Bleue series. All the maps are GPS compatible, with a 1km UTM grid plus latitude & longitude lines at 5’ intervals. Contours are at 5m intervals except for mountainous areas where the maps have contours at 10m intervals, vividly enhanced by hill shading & graphics for rocky terrain. Colouring with graphics indicates different types of vegetation or land use (deciduous or coniferous forests, moors, orchards, vineyards, etc). PLEASE NOTE: coverage of France at this scale is currently being revised – the format & the presentation of each title are indicated by the letters at the end of its Sheet Reference number (e.g. 0416ET, 3531ETR, 1923SB, etc.)MAPS WITH FULL TOURIST OVERPRINT & AN ENGLISH MAP LEGEND: all TOP25 maps & the SB editions of Série Bleue have an overprint highlighting waymarked walking trails including long-distance GR routes &, where appropriate, ski routes. Symbols indicate campsites, gîtes d’etape, refuges, equestrian centres & other recreational facilities or sites, tourist information centres, cultural heritage, etc. Towns & locations of particular interest are highlighted.- ET or OT = single-sided TOP25 map covering approx. 29x 21 km / 18x 13 miles.- ETR or OTR = waterproof & tear resistant TOP25 map covering the same area as the corresponding ET or OT number, but double-sided, printed on a smaller size sheet with a good overlap between the sides.- SB = Série Bleue map with full tourist overprint; these maps, first introduced in summer 2014, each cover approx. 29x 24km / 18x 15 miles.SÉRIE BLEUE maps with numbers ending in E (Est) or O (Ouest): most editions now indicate the GR routes, but do not show any other tourist information. Map legend is in French only. Each map covers approx. 14x 20km / 9x 12 miles. ...

Topographic survey of Portugal at 1:50, 000 from the Instituto Geográfico do Exército, the country’s military survey organisation. The maps have contours at 20m intervals & in addition to the standard features shown on topographic mapping at this scale also indicate various types of terrain or vegetation (s&, terraces, rocks, woodlands, vineyards, etc). Each sheet covers an area of 32 x 20km (20 x 12.5 miles approx). The maps have a 1-km UTM grid plus latitude & longitude coordinates for the map corners. Map legend & a glossary of terms used on the maps include English.EDITION DATES: most titles in this series date from 1990s or later. To see all the titles in this series please click on the series link. ...

Topographic survey of Portugal at 1:50, 000 from the Instituto Geográfico Português, the country’s civilian survey organisation. The maps have contours at 25m intervals & in addition to the standard features shown on topographic mapping at this scale also indicate various types of vegetation (vineyards, olive groves, etc). Each sheet covers an area of 32 x 20km (20 x 12.5miles approx). The maps have latitude & longitude margin ticks at 1’ intervals & UTM coordinates for the map corners – each sheet also shows conversion details from BBLx (Bessel-Bonnie system, Datum Lisbon) to UTM. Map legend is in Portuguese only.EDITION DATES: most titles in this series have now been updated in the 1990s or later. To see all the titles in this series please click on the series link. ...